Business manager of Georgia juvenile prison arrested

GAINESVILLE, Ga. - Georgia authorities say the business manager of a juvenile prison in north Georgia has been arrested on charges she forged signatures on the paperwork of job applicants.

Avery Niles, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, said Sunday that Lakita Edwards was arrested at her Hall County home and jailed on $9,000 bond. She works at the Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center.

Officials say Edwards forged the signature of the prison's personnel technician onto job applicant background packets. They say she also placed unauthorized notary seals onto the packets before submitting them for processing.

The agency says it discovered the forged signatures because the technician whose name was on the documents had been away from work on extended leave.